John Jacob Astor farmhouse to get mansion treatment

UPDATED, Thursday, Jan. 26 at 12:10 p.m.: A farmhouse once owned by John Jacob Astor is poised to become one of the West Village’s newest mansions.

The owner of 21 West 10th Street — a Federal-style property configured as 10 rental apartments — plans to convert the historic building into a single-family mansion, according to a permit application filed with the city’s Department of Buildings.

Built in 1833, the red-brick property sold last year to an entity known as 21 West Townhouse LLC, which paid $31 million for the property just 13 months after the prior owner bought it for $21 million. Until 2015, the historic townhouse was owned by Michael Matlock, an engineer living in Pennsylvania. He had bought the building in 1998 for $2.1 million, and spent five years gut-rehabbing it.

The five-story building — which is 26 feet wide and 72 feet deep — spans nearly 9,000 square feet, according to PropertyShark. Because the property is located within the Greenwich Village Historic District, plans must also be approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

The West Village is no stranger to those with aspirations of mansion living. The Astor farmhouse is down the block from three townhouses scooped up by former Facebook president Sean Parker, who plans to convert the homes into a megamansion. Parker, who founded Napster, owns 36, 38 and 40 West 10th Street.

Last year, telecom mogul Dexter Goei bought an 11,000-square-foot property at 138 West 11th Street for $31 million with plans to convert it into a megamansion. That property is not far from two adjacent townhouses at 273-275 West 11th Street that Sarah Jessica Parker wants to convert into a megamansion.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported that the home was built in 1933; it was built in 1833.